A senior Pakistan army commander said Saturday that al-Qaida-linked militants have been eliminated in the country's South Waziristan tribal region, after months of gunbattles around this peak and in nearby mountains last year. Maj. Gen. Niaz Khattak, who is leading the troops hunting militants in South Waziristan, told a group of journalists at the Karavan Manza mountain top army bunker that between 500 and 600 al-Qaida linked militants were believed to have been hiding in the region. "According to our intelligence reports and now we think there is absolutely none in South Waziristan," Khattak said. On Saturday, a Pakistan army helicopter landed at Karavan Manza peak _ about 2,100 meters (7,000 feet) high _ with a stone-built army bunker, taking the journalists on a conducted tour of the area. In a briefing at the army post, Khattak said the mountain was at the center of fighting with militants where they had their bases. Soldiers fought militants "for several months" and captured their bases and destroyed their communication system in Karavan Manza, he was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
